Parton told Travel Weekly: “This investment into Celestyal Travel was with the trade in mind.
“We’ve been operating in the UK for some time, and the overwhelming feedback from our agent partners was that they loved the brand, but found it quite difficult to sell because we couldn’t book flights.”
She added: “We know how important it is to have those flight-inclusive packages, so that’s where this stemmed from and this building will be our UK contact centre and headquarters. This will be the home for our UK team.
“The retail space is just an added benefit. It was not the first thing we were looking for.”
Parton added five new members of staff had been hired to work across the retail and contact centre functions.
She outlined plans to host trade and consumer events at the property, including training and social events across its multiple meeting rooms and cellar bar.
“It’s going to be very interactive, and we can do some really immersive training experiences with our travel partners,” she added, giving examples such as food and wine tastings that would be typical on board a sailing.
Parton said Celestyal Travel had created 15 flight-inclusive packages in a new brochure which will “appeal to a really broad market” and promised its product would “evolve” in future.
The two “standout” itineraries that Celestyal Travel has been selling so far have been its Abu Dhabi and Maldives packages and its Abu Dhabi F1 trips, she revealed.
Parton added that the launch of the tour operator under Hays IG in July had already helped widen its agency distribution.
She said: “We are getting many requests every day to set up with us from people that have not traded with us before, and this is across the board, with some of the larger homeworking agencies coming to us now.”
Parton added: “We are growing and it’s a big investment into the UK.
“We see so much opportunity for the UK market and this shows our plan is working with our distribution widening and also how we feel about this market.”
Looking ahead, Parton said “the real pinnacle” will be “branching out” the product portfolio and expanding the number of agencies it works with.
“The opportunity for the trade is huge, and if anything it is a race for space,” she said.
“We’ve got two ships selling really well and it is a case of you almost need to get in early because we will reach capacity.”
She added Celestyal Cruises had put its 2027-28 itineraries on sale earlier than ever before, with bookings available more than two years ahead.
This includes two ships sailing in the Arabian Gulf for the first time this year.
Parton said: “I know that others have pulled out of that region, but we have committed that we are going.”
She added that both ships will relocate through the Suez Canal from the Mediterranean to the Arabian Gulf, unlike last year when Celestyal Journey had to sail around Africa.
More: Comment: The evolving high street defies AI doom-mongering